A northwestern Ontario Provincial Police officer faces a charge under the Police Services Act, after being involved in a fatal collision two years ago.

Const. Troy Bender was originally charged with dangerous driving causing death, after Gloria Assin, 42, died after the police cruiser she was in collided with a tractor-trailer near Kenora, Ont., in September 2012.

Assin had been picked up for public intoxication and was sitting, without a seat belt on, in the back of the car.

The criminal charge was withdrawn by the Crown, and Bender subsequently pleaded guilty to careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act. He was fined about $1,100.

The OPP said Bender has now been charged under the Police Services Act with discreditable conduct.

Police spokesperson Const. Shelley Garr said there is "an ongoing" process under the Act, but no date for a hearing has been scheduled. In the meantime, the officer is back at work on general patrol.

A Kenora police officer is being charged under the Police Services Act. Constable Troy Bender was fined $1,000 under the Highway Traffic Act, in connection with a collision that resulted in the death of Gloria Assin of Grassy narrows.

She was in custody in the back seat of a police vehicle, when it was hit at the junction of Hwy. 17 and the Redditt Road. He is now facing charges of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. While police can't discuss the specifics of the case, Sgt. Carolle Dionne from the OPP explains how the proceedings work.

"If an officer is facing discreditable conduct, first, we go through our OPP's Professional Standards Bureau. They're responsible for investigating discipline related issues that fall under the Police Services Act or behavioural standards by the OPP," she said.

When it comes to the investigation, she notes there are many factors to take into consideration.

"It could be an issue of a public complaint, from an outside member, or is it basically an internal discipline issue. Depending on the different factors, obviously you're going to be dealing with a different timeline," she said.

The factors for which an officer can be charged with discreditable charges are as follows:

(1) Any chief of police or other police officer commits misconduct if he or she engages in,

Kenora OPP officer Troy Bender is being charged with Discreditable Conduct by the police force.

Back in December, Bender was acquitted after being tried in Kenora on charges of Criminal Negligence Causing Death stemming from a car accident he was involved in which caused the death of his prisoner, Gloria Assin, of Grassy Narrows First Nation back in September of 2012.

Assin was in the back of Bender’s OPP Chevrolet Tahoe when it was struck by a semi-trailer while he was trying to turn off the bypass on his way to the Kenora OPP’s headquarters. Although Bender was acquitted of criminal negligence, he did plead guilty to one count of Careless Driving and was fined $1,000.

Now that all criminal proceedings against him are now all over, the police force is beginning internal disciplinary proceedings against Bender.

“He has been charged with Discreditable Conduct, but there’s no hearings dates set at this point at time. However, he has been charged under the Police Services Act,” OPP spokesperson Shelly Garr confirmed.

According to the Ontario Police Services Act, discreditable conduct covers a wide range of unacceptable behaviors by officers which can discredit or compromise the proper functioning or discipline of their police force. Exactly what interpretation of discreditable conduct Bender is accused of committing is unknown.

Some of the behaviors considered to be discreditable conduct are: discrimination against someone based on their race, gender, religion, age, etc; ”oppressive or tyrannical” treatment of subordinates; verbal abuse towards other officers or the public; making a false statement of complaint against another officer; assaulting another officer; suppressing a complaint or report about another officer; or acting in a manner that brings discredit on the reputation of the police force.

The most likely violation being used to charge Bender is that he has been found guilty of a criminal offense because of his guilty plea to careless driving.

When I first read the story about this woman dying while in police custody this is exactly the outcome that I predicted.

The SIU intentionally charged the officer for dangerous driving because any competent lawyer would know that that charge would not fly considering what needs to be proved for a dangerous driving conviction.

However the woman was arrested for public intoxication, a charge that many times goes unchallenged in court because it results in a small fine.

This charge "public intoxication" is one of the most common charges that result in unlawful arrests of citizens because cops do not know what the true purpose of the charge is nor do they know what the true meaning of "intoxicated" is.

An unlawful arrest constitutes an assault at common law and to further take the woman into custody constitutes an unlawful imprisonment.

The SIU could not be stupid enough not to know this but they are cops investigating cops.

This cop is most likely guilty of manslaughter or criminal negligence causing death but once again it pays off to be a cop.

Actually Dangerous is easier to prove than careless. I will let you read the appropriate sections and case law. From there you can discern that the Officer did get off lucky. I am sure most officers understand that a person has to be so intoxicated that he/she must be a danger to themselves, others or unable to care for themselves. ei. sleeping it off in a snow bank in -30 weather to warrant arrest and placement either in a cell or their residence with someone there who is sober to watch over them.

I do not know your level of education, nor does it matter. The Officer will suffer through law suits, PTSD and guilt for the remainder of his life. Is that a just punishment for the unintentional death of another person? If I knew the answer to that I would not wake every morning and go to sleep each night with the faces of the dead people I encountered during my OPP career on my mind.

This is a great site but I wish there were up-to-date posts. Bill O'Sullivan

There were no snowbanks or -30 that night but it would be typical for an officer to fabricate exigent circumstances to justify violating someones rights.

Obviously, in your opinion, my level of education does matter.

Though I have a low level of education, I am dumbfounded to see that someone could think that it is easier for a prosecutor to prove a criminal mens rea offence over a strict liability offence. I guess you think it is even harder to prove an absolute liability offence.

Most people that get arrested and charged for "public intoxication" do not challenge the arrest or ticket. Most people would just pay the $60, or whatever, ticket. Most people feel that the charge was legit because they had been drinking and they were then in a public place. Most people would not get a lawyer or paralegal involved, but they should. If you can remember what happened when you were charged for this offence you were likely unlawfully arrested.

A big problem with many police officers is that they are ignorant of the Charter of rights and also what constitutes grounds for arrest in many circumstances. Their attitude is to just go ahead and charge and collect evidence regardless of the persons rights and turn the person over to the courts to have them deal with the officers incompetence.

When an officer does not learn how to protect the public's rights because he is lazy, this is negligence that costs the taxpayers a lot of money in lawsuits and lives.WERE YOU ONE OF THESE OFFICERS??

Why don't you sign up for the OPP Auxiliary program and do ride alongs with Officers from other Detachments. I admit there are some rotten apples who wear a police uniform but if you do ride-alongs it might show you we all should not be smeared with the same brush. A great many of us have stepped forward and tried to right wrongs done by an Officer who went off-side. Sometimes we were successful and sometimes not....but at least we tried.

I do not need to be signed up as an auxiliary to do ride alongs with the OPP. They prefer to target my family and unlawfully force a "ride-along". I am so sick of hearing the "some bad apples" shit !!! I have had involvement with many of the Peterborough OPP officers. 90 percent of them are compulsive liars. A couple of them were so stupid they lied in my favour at my trial and helped me with my malicious prosecution claims.

Every time I think I have found an honorable one, they prove to be liars. Approximately 20 of them are named in our statement of claim that involves 10 years of targeting my family, violating our rights, assaulting us, trespassing on our property, unlawfully arresting us, maliciously prosecuting us, etc.

Hear is some case law to help back up my claims http://canlii.ca/t/g6kb5 and I am fairly confident there will be more to come.

My family is suffering from PTSD from all the abuse. I think that the OPP should offer victims of the police access to the Post Traumatic Stress Recovery Program to deal with their abuse of authority that they are so famous for.

I do not believe that police officers step forward to right wrongs by other members of their organized syndicate of authority abusers, they will be reprimanded for turning on other officers, unless the majority wants to have them removed from the force like Michael Jack, Lloyd Tapp, Harry Chase and many more that do not conform to the brotherhood of abusers.

Constable Troy Bender pleaded guilty to careless driving in connection with an incident in which a woman died after the police cruiser she was in collided with a tractor-trailer near Kenora. (Megan Benedictson/CBC)

A northwestern Ontario OPP officer charged under the Police Services Act after a fatal collision two years ago has pleaded guilty.

Constable Troy Bender was charged in connection with an incident in which a woman died after the police cruiser she was in collided with a tractor-trailer near Kenora.

Bender was initially charged with dangerous driving causing death, but subsequently pleaded guilty to careless driving and was fined about $1,100.

Last month he pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

An OPP spokesperson says the adjudicator in the case has not yet decided on the penalty.